Blood Stained Roses
by The Shattered Man
Summary: Ruby Rose enjoys her life as a huntress in training. She has good friends, an excellent school, and her one passion, killing Grimm. But what happens when a lust for vengeance leads to her enjoyment of killing Grimm spills into an enjoyment of killing anyone? Rated M for dark themes and suggestive themes. Character death will and has happen, don't say I didn't warn you.
1. Blood Red

Chapter One: Blood Red

Ruby Rose, to most people looking at her, is fairly normal for a huntress in training. She has, and can wield with deadly precision, an ungodly combination of a sniper rifle and scythe, could move at incredible speeds, and hunted monsters of darkness for profit and pleasure.

However, often during her schooling, she found herself in a position similar to her current one. Ruby was bored out of her mind. Grimm Studies was the worst. Professor Port seemed to take offense to the idea of an entertaining lecture. It was quite the unfortunate circumstance, which lead to Ruby's daydreams.

'_You know what would make this class 100 times more interesting? If we learned about Grimm by killing them! Sure, he brings some in every now and then, but there's an unfortunate lack. Especially since he brought one in the first day! Really. If we just killed Grimm the whole time, it'd be great! Tons of fun._ 'This continued for the entire 45 minute class, until the lunch bell, where the young reaper was out of there as fast as she could go.

Lunch was an interesting affair, as always. Today, their conversation was focused on how much they disliked their previous class, and how utterly boring it was. Ruby voiced her idea for hunting them to learn about them, the table gave her a bit of an odd look. Probably due to her expressing her desire for killing, and how much fun it was.

Weiss was disturbed, asking "Ruby, how and why is killing Grimm fun? Its necessary, yes, and something to be proud of, but not exactly fun. I'm not the only one who thinks this, right?" The rest of the table nodded along with her.

"But, you know, its fun! The thrill of victory, seeing my sweetheart cut through them. Knowing you're having a large impact with such little movements. It makes me feel alive." Ruby said in a tone of almost reverence, something the others almost never heard from her when she wasn't talking about weapons

Oddly enough, it was Ren who broke the silence, asking "Ruby, have you been tested for psychosis?"

Yang responded for Ruby in a shout of "My sister is not a psycho!". Needless to say, this attracted the attention of the entire cafeteria. In a more normal voice, she repeated "My sister is not a psycho."

Ren was quite calm for being at the receiving end of Yang's anger. He simply said "Yang, it's possible if she's never had a psychoanalysis. And a psychopath can function fine in society, if they have a way to deal with it. And she did say she enjoys killing a lot, right Ruby?"

"Yeah. I do. I enjoy the feeling of knowing I've ended something, permanently. It makes me feel more real." Ruby said

"It makes a lot of sense. I never understood why someone would pursue a career in hunting with such passion, if you only wanted to help people. I figured there must have been something else driving you." Weiss remarked "And now we know you better, and we know why you'll give yourself the bloodiest part of the plan."

Before Ruby could respond to this, a sound could be heard from across the cafeteria. Once again, Cardin was bullying the shy rabbit faunus, Velvet. However, unlike normal, his team wasn't with him, and this gave Ruby and idea. Ruby always hated how Cardin bullied Velvet and the others, but she knew she couldn't do anything on her own, against four. Against just Cardin, she could get him to back down.

Telling her team she was going to 'teach Cardin a lesson', Ruby made her way across the cafeteria. As she reached Cardin, she said in a sweet, sing-song voice "Hey Caaardin. Why don't you leave her and we have some fun?"

As he turned around, Ruby brought Crescent Rose, in rifle form, up to his balls and said in a cold voice "Don't move fucker." Cardin looked frantically for an advantage, but sadly found none. Ruby continued "We can do this one of two ways. Either you can leave now, and never bother Velvet again, or I can blast your balls into dust. Your choice."

Cardin, while he was a jerk, was not an idiot. Knowing he had no chance, he backed off, swearing vengeance against Ruby. Maybe he'd start by destroying her weapon. He had plenty of time to plot. Meanwhile, back at Velvet's table, Velvet was worried. She had no idea why Ruby came and saved her. Did she want something? Velvet was understandably paranoid.

"Thank you" Velvet said in a quiet voice to Ruby. "You didn't have to do that for me."

Ruby responded with "Yeah, but he's an ass who needs to learn respect, and you don't deserve his bullying. Where's your team?"

"They have the other lunch. Normally they help, but they can't now. And I don't do anything because I don't want to hurt anyone..." At this last part, Ruby had to strain to hear her.

"It's okay Velvet. You can sit with me and my friends during lunch if you want."

"It's okay. I don't think I could handle all the people. I'm really bad with that, if you didn't notice. And Weiss scares me almost as much as Cardin." Velvet said, finishing with a weak laugh.

"Yeah, that's Weiss for ya. I know! I'll just stay with you then!" said Ruby, brightly.

"Really? You'd do that for me?" Velvet said, with disbelief in her voice.

"Of course! You seem pretty cool. You shouldn't be alone here."

"Thanks! But, you kind of scare me too."

In response to this, Ruby just laughed.

* * *

**So, I know I said on my other fic I'd release this on the weekend. Buuuuuut I lied. I'm a procrastinator. It happens. I'll try to update regularly. Don't hold me to anything. Also, this fic will become darker, but it will take a while. It'll build up to it. It would be wonderful if this fic could maybe get some reviews. Please? Thanks**

**-The Shattered Man**


	2. A Friend In Need

Chapter Two: A Friend in Need

Velvet couldn't believe her luck. She had a new friend. A scary, kickass, brilliant new friend. Ruby had helped Velvet become less shy, and they hung out every day at lunch. Ruby had even convinced Cardin to stop bulling her, with Crescent Rose, of course. While many may think that Velvet was being a little too enthusiastic about this, one must take into account that her only other friends were Coco, Fox, and Yatsuhashi.

So, when Ruby didn't show up to lunch, Velvet was understandably worried. This was the first time Ruby hadn't shown up for lunch. Sometimes she was sick, or needed to study, but she always messaged Velvet to let her know, and they'd been hanging out for months! Velvet even thought she might be getting a crush on the little reaper. But it wasn't the time for such things. At the moment, Velvet's worry was outweighing her shyness and she did something she'd only rarely done. She went and talked to a complete stranger. Well, close to a complete stranger, Ruby's teammate Blake. She seemed to be the nicest of them.

She walked over and asked, in a quiet voice "Hey, Blake, do you know where Ruby is?"

It was Yang not Blake, who answered. "She's in our dorm. After Weiss and I announced we're dating, she said she needed a minute, and hasn't come down. You want to go figure out what's wrong for us?"

"S-sure, thanks. I'll go up there then." Velvet was confused as to why Ruby would be so upset from just this, since she had been saying the tension between Weiss and Yang was driving her crazy.

When she got to Team RWBY's dorm, she found the door was locked. Knocking got no answer, and Velvet was too shy of a person to shout at Ruby, so her only option was a scroll message and to hope Ruby saw it. Otherwise, she'd have to keep knocking, or break down the door.

Luckily, Ruby opened the door and let Velvet in, saying, "Hey Velv. Sorry about lunch." She sounded quite sad, and this in turn led Velvet to feel quite sad as well.

"Ruby, what's wrong?" asked Velvet, her concern apparent in her voice.

"It's nothing. Just go to lunch. I'll be there in a minute"

"I'm not going to leave one of my friends here alone and sad and just go to lunch! I want to help you feel better."

"Velv, I'm fine. I really am."

"Obviously not, otherwise you'd have been at lunch." Velvet said, still concerned, and walked over to where Ruby was sitting on the ground to wrap her in a hug. In a soft voice, Velvet asked again "What's wrong?"

"It's just, everyone has someone. Jaune has Pyrrha, Ren has Nora, and now Yang and Weiss are together. I feel so lonely, you know?"

"Yeah, I know" Velvet said, thinking, _"You could always have me," _but too shy to say it. Instead, she continued with, "It'll be okay Ruby. I'm here for you."

They stayed there for a while, each enjoying the position immensely. Until Ruby's stomach made an ominous rumbling noise. Laughing, they got up and Velvet said "Guess we should probably go to lunch then. I think we still have 20 minutes."

"Oh, Velv, thank you. It really means a lot."

* * *

"No problem Ruby."

That day, after classes

Velvet was chatting with Coco in their dorms when her scroll emitted a distinctive "ding" to alert her she had a message from a one Ruby Rose. The message read, **"**Hey Velv, can we meet at the fountain to talk?**"**

Velvet replied, "Sure, can I have ten minutes to wrap things up with Coco?"

"Okay**."**

Velvet looked up from her scroll and saw Coco barely containing laughter. Apparently, that glance was the last straw, because at that Coco's mirth overflowed, causing the rabbit faunus to turn red.

"What's so funny?" demanded Velvet, quite annoyed with her teammate's antics.

"You! You had this look on your face when you were reading the message. You look like you're hanging onto every word!" With this, she descended back into her giggle fit, unable to form coherent words.

"Shut up Coco! It's not funny." Velvet was definitely annoyed with Coco now.

In a suddenly serious manner Coco asked, "You really like her, don't you?"

With a defeated tone of voice, Velvet said "Yeah, but there's no way she feels the same about me. Maybe I should just give up."

"Nope!"

"Nope?"

"Nope! You should tell her. I'm 95% sure that she likes you. She paid more attention to you than my weapon when I showed it to her, and you know how she is with weapons. She even gave you one of her favorite cookies! That's something she wouldn't do for just anyone you know. So just tell her when you see her. I assume you are going to meet her?"

"Yeah, by the fountain. But still, I can't admit it. I'm too shy. And what if it ruins our friendship? I can't let that happen."

"You just need a bit of confidence. Besides, do you really think Ruby will stop being friends with you because of that?"

"No, I guess not. She'd just pretend it never happened."

"Exactly! So go talk to her! Go!"

* * *

"Fine then. You're so pushy Coco." Turning to the door, she messaged Ruby that she was on her way.

Beacon Courtyard, 2 minutes later

Velvet found the bench she and Ruby sometimes ate lunch at, by the fountain, and sat down to wait. It didn't take long; Ruby was there in just under a minute. She looked quite nervous.

Ruby was the first to speak. "Hey Velv, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Hmmm?" Velvet could hardly contain her hope at Ruby's words. Ruby probably wasn't asking her out. But a girl can hope.

"So, um, we've been hanging out a lot, and I was, uh, wondering if maybe you'd uh, if you'd like to go to dinner or something?"

Velvet almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. Trying to keep the excitement from her voice, she asked "Like a date?"

Looking down nervously, Ruby said "...Yeah, basically."

Velvet couldn't believe her ears. "That would be… great, actually."

Ruby apparently hadn't thought this through enough to have a plan of what to do if Velvet said yes. "Ummm... How about Saturday at 7? I'll pick you up and we can go into Vale."

"Alright! Oh, and Ruby?"

"Yes?"

"I'm looking forward to it…"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**So, Ruby and Velvet are together now! And for those of you who want it darker, it's coming. Next chapter sets the stage, chapter after that goes dark. **

**Next chapter should be soon. I can't believe I took 2 weeks. Sorry about that.**

**-The Shattered Man**


	3. First Date

Chapter 3: First Date

As Ruby walked back to her dorm, there was a spring in her step. She was ecstatic! Velvet said yes! This was great. Now all she had to do was plan the date, then find something to wear and manage to do this without Yang finding out so she wouldn't make horrible puns about it, which would be difficult.

When Ruby got back to her dorm, Yang shouted, "Hey Ruby! Good job getting a date! Took you long enough to ask her out!" Well, that's one plan out the window. The real question was how the hell Yang found out.

"How do you know? It hasn't even been ten minutes yet!" She shot a _very _accusatory glare over at Yang.

"Actually, I told her. I followed you to figure out if you were finally going to ask her." Blake said.

Shifting the glare to Blake, Ruby asked "Why? And why did you have to tell her?"

"Well, you've been really obvious about your crush on Velvet, and you said you were going to talk to her with a nervous tone, and you wouldn't say what about. So, I sent Blake. She told me when Yang was around." Weiss told Ruby.

"What! My own partner has turned on me? NOOOOO!" Ruby said before mock-fainting.

"Well Ruby, we can help you prepare for the date." Blake said. "Weiss agreed to pay for it, I suspect Yang's involvement, Yang herself said she'd get your clothes, and I can help you prepare for the actual date."

"Really guys?" Ruby asked, awed by the generosity and incredibly grateful.

"Yep! And I didn't even have to blackmail Weiss-y here!" Yang said happily.

"Yang, just because we're dating does _not_ give you permission to call me that ridiculous nickname. Stop it immediately." Weiss said to Yang, clearly annoyed.

"If it really bothers you." Yang said. "Anyhow, Ruby, do you know where you're going to take Velvet?"

"No, not really. I honestly didn't expect her to say yes." Ruby said, "Do you guys have any recommendations?"

"Well, I would mention a club I know, but you're a little too young, and I think I pissed off the owner last time I was there. Otherwise, I really don't know anywhere suitable."

Blake contributed "I know a nice cafe I went to with Sun that weekend. Otherwise, I know a place with really good tuna, but I think they might have a no-faunus policy after the white fang robbed them."

"Well that's no fun." Ruby responded with.

"I know several places in Vale that may be a tad too fancy for this, but I think I have a decent fit." Weiss said. "It's called Tre Bicchieri and it has excellent food."

"Alright. Thanks guys. I'll ask JNPR tomorrow if they have any other recommendations for places to eat." Ruby said.

The Next Day, At Lunch

"So, Ruby, not hanging out with Velvet today?" Jaune asked, unused to Ruby being at lunch with them.

"They aren't hanging out until after their date in 3 days. Apparently it just feels weird." Yang informed him.

"Yang! I was gonna tell them!" Ruby whined.

"Sorry sis." Yang said.

"It's about time you two got together." Ren said from the table. "It was almost painful to watch the two of you dance around it." This caused most of the group to smirk as they thought about him and Nora.

"Either way, where are you going?" Chimed in Pyrrha.

"Not really sure. Weiss suggested Tre Bicchieri."

"That's a nice venue, and if you enjoy Mistral cuisine, there's an excellent restaurant downtown." Pyrrah suggested.

In an incredibly exited voice Nora added "Oh! I know! There's this place with these sloths and it's incredible!"

"Nora, I don't think they want to go to the zoo." Ren said, being his partner's voice of reason once again.

"Awwwww..." Nora whined

"There's a really good steakhouse, but I doubt Velvet eats meat, her being a rabbit faunus and all." Ren advised.

"That's true." Blake commented. "Faunus tastes are influenced by their heritage. That's why I like tuna and other fish, and Velvet probably has a preference for salads."

"Well, wherever you go, make sure to fawn over her. Ya know, cause she's a faunus. Get it?" Yang punned.

"Damn it Yang!" The entire table chorused.

Three days later, Tre Bicchieri

"So, uh, Weiss, Yang, what are you guys doing here as well?" Ruby asked, a tad nervously.

"We're going on a date as well! Besides, I may like Velvet, but I'm not gonna just leave the two of you unsupervised." Yang said, finishing with a serious tone.

"What she means is that we also needed a date, and Yang wants as much teasing material as she can get." Weiss said. "Isn't that right Yang? You're not going to do anything to affect the date, right?"

"Yes Weiss..." Yang answered, with a dejected tone of voice.

"Alright. And you guys made sure Velv will be here and everything, right?" Ruby was quite nervous, this being her first date.

"Yes, Ruby. Don't worry." Weiss said.

"Reservation?" A staff member asked.

"Yes, two tables for 'Schnee'" Weiss responded.

"Right this way please." The waiter led them to two tables, one near a window, and the other ten feet away, near a large painting. "Your servers will be out shortly."

After five minutes of waiting, Velv showed up at Ruby's table. "Hello Ruby" she said in a quiet voice.

"Hey Velv. You look beautiful." Ruby said, also in a quiet voice.

"Thanks. So do you."

"So, umm, what do people normally talk about on dates?"

"I don't really know..." Before Ruby could try to bring up a conversation, a strange looking redhead suddenly shouted from the front of the restaurant.

"I found the source of the mysterious ticking noise! It's a pipe bomb!" This caused his companions to let up a cheer while he hoisted an object above his head. It was spherical, and held red and blue dust.

Ruby and Velvet looked at each other, then at the bomb. It had a timer on it that said 7 seconds. They both shouted "GET DOWN!" and dived under the table before the bomb exploded.

As the smoke cleared, Ruby could see the extent of the damage. The people surrounding the bomb were gone, most likely dead. As a bit of dark humor, Ruby thought, "_Why is it that there are always explosions when I'm around?"_ Ruby then noticed someone in black armor approaching her.

As the person in the armor reached her, he said, "You're awake. Good. I can leave my message with you." His voice was metallic sounding, as if it was coming from the armor, and not a person inside it. "We want you to know that this is just the beginning, red. You've made a dangerous enemy in the white fang. I suggest you run." With that, he raised his sword and used the pommel to knock Ruby into unconsciousness, and left the scene.

* * *

**So, this is a better update time, don't you agree? This is the start of Ruby's descent into darkness. Everybody, hold on to your butts.**

**Also, 5 points to the person who tells me what I'm referencing with the bomb.**

**-The Shattered Man**


	4. The Beginning Of The End

Chapter Four: The Beginning of The End

**A/N: Ozpin is super OOC. I know this. It was fun to write, okay?**

The first thing Velvet noticed when she woke up was Ruby sleeping next to her. The second thing she noticed was that she was in a hospital. As she shifted herself into a better position, she accidentally woke up Ruby. Ruby seemed to take longer to wake up, taking a few moments to realize where she was. As soon as she figured it out, she blushed crimson and said "Uhhh, sorry Velv. I was waiting for you to wake up, and sort of fell asleep. Sorry."

Velvet giggled softly and said "Don't worry, Ruby. I didn't mind."

"Really?"

"Yeah. What time is it?"

Ruby looked at her watch, then said "It's three in the morning."

"It's too early then. So what happened? All I remember was shouting after that ginger with the bomb popped up."

"Well, the explosion knocked the table into you, and that knocked you out. I was trapped by a wooden beam. After the dust settled, this guy in weird black armor walked up to me and said something about this being a taste of what's to come and something else about the White Fang. Then he hit me with his sword. After that, I woke up here. Apparently, we're both really lucky not have concussions."

"That seems like overkill for a simple message." Then, in a softer tone, Velvet asked "Did they say how many people died?"

"Apparently, only the group of five who were standing right next to the suspect. There are a lot of injuries though, and a few of them would have been fatal if there weren't so many aura users there." Ruby said, in just as quiet a tone.

"So what do we do about this?" Velvet said.

"What do you mean, do about this?" Ruby asked.

"We have to stop the White Fang. If they're going to kill this many innocents, they have to be stopped," Velvet said, a determined look in her eyes.

"Why haven't you channeled this energy into stopping people from bullying you?"

"Well, I didn't have anyone to help me before. And they weren't hurting other people to get to me. I can't stand when that happens."

"Alright. We'll stop them. But we should get Blake, Weiss and Yang in on this as well. They'll be dragged in no matter what, since they've done as much as me against the White Fang."

"Yeah. They can probably help."

"Yep! But first we have to get checked out of here..."

"It can't be that long."

"We need to stay for 3 days to make sure we don't have any psychological problems."

"So, we can't leave the hospital?"

"Nope. But we can go to the hospital restaurant, the hospital gym, or the non-infectious wards. So we could visit Weiss and Yang and plan. Maybe bring Blake in."

"Alright. We'll do that later. For now, I feel sleepy again. Goodnight Ruby."

"Goodnight, Velvet." With that, Velvet fell asleep, and Ruby laid down next to her and fell asleep as well.

After they woke up again, Ruby and Velvet went off to find Weiss and Yang's room. Yang being Yang, she told the hospital staff that she and Weiss should share a room, and that Ruby and Velvet should as well. While it was convenient, Velvet was slightly annoyed that she had no say in the arrangements. When they reached the room, Velvet found another reason to be annoyed.

When they walked in, Weiss and Yang were in the middle of furious make out session, and who knows what it would have escalated into if Ruby didn't shout "MY EYES!" and hid behind Velvet.

Ruby's shout made the two split apart at record speeds, both blushing deep crimson. Yang asked, both annoyed and embarrassed "What are you guys doing here?"

It was Velvet, not Ruby who answered the blonde. "We wanted to talk to you guys about the attack. We can come back later if you want."

"Well, Blake should be back soon, so you guys should stick around. Let's not have a repeat of what just happened." Weiss said, completely embarrassed.

"So, why don't you guys tell us how you got together?" Ruby asked. "You never told me."

"You remember the dance we had a while back?" Yang asked.

"Yeah! You guys made me wear those dumb shoes and Ozpin said something about, 'I've ruined more proms than any man woman or child,' before he spiked the punch." Ruby said.

"I've always said something was off with him. Anyhow, it was that night" Yang said.

* * *

It was the night of the dance. Yang's joy at seeing Blake in attendance quickly wore off as the faunus chased after Pyrrah during the entire dance. Pyrrah didn't notice because she was after Jaune. Jaune just wanted to sit in a corner and be sad about Weiss.

The heiress in question was also quite down. Neptune had rejected her. Weiss wasn't too concerned with Neptune, however; she was just unhappy she was rejected. The heiress's pride was a fragile thing, and Neptune damaged it. So when he tried to come back to her, he certainly received an earful. Weiss, feeling better after this, went over to the punch bowl.

Yang, in her saddened state, also set her sights on the punch bowl, wanting to be as far from Blake as she could for the rest of the night. After both were at the punch bowl, they could see Ruby and Ozpin walking over. Yang asked "Hey sis; hey professor Ozpin. What's up?"

Ozpin answered "It's a good party, but it needs a little something." while pulling a bottle of alcohol out of his vest.

At this, Ruby's eyes widened and she said "Professor!"

"Ruby, I've ruined more dances than any man, woman, or child on this planet. I know what I'm doing." Ozpin said, as he proceeded to spike the punch.

"Well, I for one am certainly not drinking any more punch." Weiss said, looking at Ozpin in disdain.

"Come on Weiss-y! You just have to live a little!" Yang said, drinking a cup of now alcoholic punch.

"If I drink one cup, will you agree to never call me that again?" Weiss asked, while Ruby and Ozpin departed to what they deemed a safe distance, Ozpin carrying a glass of punch.

"Sure!" Yang said, knowing there was no way she'd keep that promise.

"Fine" said Weiss as she drank the punch. Unluckily for Weiss, she was quite the lightweight, and had little tolerance for alcohol. Therefore, while not drunk, the solitary drink did have somewhat of an effect on the heiress.

Yang, while she did not notice Weiss's now ever-preset grin, she did notice the music change to a slower melody. Not to be left out of all the fun, she turned to Weiss and said "Hey princess. May I have this dance?"

Weiss was a tad stunned by this, not expecting anyone to ask her to dance after she almost stabbed Jaune, but she quickly accepted. She let Yang lead, and asked her, "Why did you ask to dance? I didn't think that dancing would be your kind of thing, or that I'd be the one you'd dance with."

"Yeah, well, I'll be damned if I go the entire night without dancing, especially after Jaune's little stunt. And if I'm dancing with a pretty heiress, well, all the better," said Yang, as she twirled said pretty heiress.

"Don't you have a crush on Blake though?"

"Yeah, but she's busy chasing Pyrrha, and there's no way that's gonna work. You're sort of my second choice, no offense. Just because you're my second choice doesn't mean I don't like you or anything. Shit. I'm gonna stop talking now."

"No offense taken. So do you like me? That little rant of yours wasn't too clear."

"Yeah. Fuck, it's gonna be awkward now."

"It could be. Or we could discuss this over dinner sometime like civilized adults."

"Weiss-y, are you asking me out on a date? I never knew you cared!"

"Don't call me that Yang." As the song ended, the two broke apart, and headed back to the punch bowl.

"So, when are we gonna have that date?"

"How about in two days? Say, 6 o'clock?"

"You got it, princess."

"Is it really so hard to just call me Weiss?"

"Yep!"

"Fine. I'll be in my bunk. I need a break from this dance, and I suspect that punch was a bad idea."

"Alright Weiss. I won't disturb your alone time." Yang said with a wink.

"YANG!"

"Wow. You guys suck at cute moments. Imagine telling that to your kids." Ruby commented.

"Cute moments aren't our style," Yang retorted. "That's for you and Velvet."

"I guess that's what happens when you're the better couple." Ruby replied.

"Shots fired," Velvet added.

This sparked a ten minute long argument over which was the better couple. It was eventually ended by Blake's arrival. When she entered the room, she shot a blank with Gambol Shroud and asked the suddenly quiet room, "Aren't you guys supposed to be injured?"

* * *

**A/N for real this time: SO! The last chapter before it gets dark and I up the rating. **

**Thanks to everyone who played along with my shameless attempts at getting more reviews. It worked at least.**

**rwbybomb21 gets 5 points for being first. Also, read his stuff. It's really good.**

**Anyhow, how was my attempt at fluff? Yes? No? Never try it again? Tell me! Reviews are gooooood!**

**Also, I will freely admit, that even though I am a teenage guy, I squealed like a little girl seeing I've gotten over 1,000 views. Thanks all you readers!**

**-The Shattered Man**


	5. Lost Souls

**Blood Stained Roses**

Chapter 5: Lost Souls Don't Always Come Home

When the four huntresses-in-training were dismissed from the hospital they were almost sad to leave. Now they had to go back to classes, and the work they missed was incredibly piling high. Even Weiss was having doubts about her ability to complete all of it.

For Ruby, however, the biggest issue wasn't the homework. It was her recurring nightmares about the bombing. The hospital psychiatrist said it was a normal after effect, and if it lasted more than a month, there was cause to be worried. Luckily, she had Velvet for support. The rabbit faunus was great help to Ruby, keeping her company. But the nightmare was just beginning.

* * *

In an abandoned warehouse, a figure wearing a suit of armor cackled madly. His targets had just left the hospital, and now he could begin executing his plan. He activated the dust he had injected into the yellow girl after the bombing, and laughed louder. His game had begun.

* * *

Back in the RWBY dorm, Yang woke with a scream. It was loud and fearful, startling the others awake as well. Ruby was the first to figure out what the disturbance was, and asked, "Yang! What's wrong?"

It took Yang a minute to get herself under control, and even then she could only say "Nightmare... Horrible... So much pain... No more sleep..." It took five minutes before she was ready to explain. "It was the worst nightmare I've ever had. It was everything I've feared, or hated, and so much pain. I'm not sleeping again. Not if I go back to that hell."

Weiss, having already wrapped her arms around Yang, gave her an affectionate squeeze, and said "But won't you need sleep?"

Yang responded with a stubborn, "I might, but I'm not getting any. It's not gonna happen." After this, everyone dropped the subject and turned back to go to sleep.

The next morning seemed to come all too soon to team RWBY. Ruby, Weiss and Blake all had a poor night's sleep after Yang's outburst, fearful of what images could have scared the normally brave blonde so terribly. Yang herself got no sleep, and she was uncharacteristically quiet and brooding.

Silently, they all got ready and headed down to breakfast. When they arrived in the cafeteria, they saw that both teams JNPR and CFVY were waiting for them to arrive. After looking them over, Velvet quietly asked Ruby, "Rough night?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. Yang had a nightmare that was bad enough for her to swear off sleep." Ruby paused, and then continued, saying, "Hey Velv? Can I use you as a pillow for a little bit?"

Blushing, Velvet nodded, not trusting herself to speak in this situation. Ruby leaned on her shoulder and quickly fell into a light sleep. The glare Velvet sent everyone quickly stopped the budding remarks about them. Instead of letting the silence continue, Velvet asked, "What are you guys going to do about the dreams?"

Blake answered, saying, "Ruby said she'd talk to Ozpin. Apparently, Yang's encountered something like this before. After a few days without sleep, her dreams 'leak out' and she starts to hallucinate. Ruby wants him to confine her to the infirmary, so she can't hurt anyone once she starts. You should probably wake her up so she can go see Ozpin. According to Ruby, the worse the nightmares, the quicker she begins hallucinating. She estimates tomorrow."

"That's not good. Do you know why?" Velvet said.

"No clue. Apparently the psychiatrists have never seen anything like it."

"Damn" Velvet swore, poking Ruby, "Hey, wake up. Apparently you need to see Ozpin."

"Oh. That. Right." Ruby replied with a yawn. "I'll go do that. See ya, Velv."

* * *

"So, Yang is refusing to sleep?" Ozpin asked.

"Yes sir. She woke up screaming, and now says she 'won't go back to that hell,'" Ruby replied.

"Alright. I'll have her moved to a closed infirmary room. Be sure to bring her missed work to her, so she doesn't fall behind."

"I will sir. Should I take her there now?"

"Yes. Be sure to inform the infirmary staff of her condition."

"I will sir. You can count on me."

* * *

"Ruby, this is hardly necissary." Yang protested as she and her sister gathered her stuff to move to the infirmary.

"Yang, remember back when we went to signal, and you were 7 and I was 5? You had such a bad nightmare you refused to sleep. Then you started to hallucinate and punched poor Davie right in the face! You broke his skull! We're not having that happen again, espicially since I doubt you'll give up Ember Celia."

"Damn right I won't! But I see your point. Just help me get this all in my bag."

"Alright, alright, calm your tits Yang."

"Ruby! Have we corrupted you?!"

"Just a bit Yang, just a bit."

Yang's retort to this was suddenly cut off by a strange sound. It sounded like... laughter? It seemed off though. It was rough sounding, not something one would expect from a person. "Yang?" Ruby asked, worriedly. "What is it?"

"Can you hear it? That laughter?" Yang asked, sounding unnerved.

"No, Yang. I can't. This is bad. You're hallucinating already. We should get you to the infirmary. Now." Ruby's voice hardened at the last part, showing a steel suprising for her age.

"Where did my innocent sister go, and who is this leader that took her place?"

"Very funny Yang. Now let's go before it gets any worse," And without another word, the duo left the room.

The trip to the infirmary passed without incident, and the isolation chamber for Yang had its fireproofing finished just as they arrived. Still in silence, the siblings worked to set up Yang's new room. Her laptop, her TV, and her gaming system were all installed quickly, and there were few more personal items to place. All too soon, Yang was saying goodbye to her sister and her team, who had just arrived to wish her luck.

Not even a minute after the rest of her team left, the laughter came again, but coupled with a voice this time. "How touching. Humans really are entertaining creatures."

Spinning around, Yang saw him. Dressed in a strange variety of colors, he had a jester cap, and looked about 17. "You say that like you aren't a human."

"I strive not to be. I like to be a spirit of madness, it works on good days."

"What's your name, O spirit of madness?"

"Call me Sheo."

* * *

A few days passed with Sheo. They quickly developed a rivalry over their games. Ruby, Weiss and Blake visited, and Yang refrained from speaking to them about Sheo, who they'd dismiss as a hallucination. It was a shame, really. Yang would have loved to see her girlfriend's face upon seeing Sheo. It didn't help matters that he was intent on making her laugh at his antics. At one point, she ignored him for a little bit, and he claimed he'd go through attention withdrawals.

"I'm serious Yang! I do handstands and my body contorts. It's great fun, but it makes my life just so difficult like you'd never believe. It's almost impossible to pickpocket someone with just your teeth!" Within ten minutes, he had indeed started to handstand and contort. Ten minute late, Yang had mercy and started to chat with him again

After about 3 days of fun, Sheo turned to Yang, who was feeling less than one-hundred percent from her sleep loss, and said "Well, I gotta go. Time restraints and all."

Yang's reply was a new one for the madman. "Bye Sheo! I hope we can talk and whatnot later."

Puzzled, Sheo thought about it for a bit. Nobody ever wanted to see him again later. He decided he wasn't going to question the blonde's antics. "Bye, Yang. I hope so too."

"We damn well better!" After Sheo left, Yang realized just how long it'd been since she'd slept, and how tired she was. Against her will, her eyes started to close, and she fell to the ground, fast asleep.

The next thing Yang knew, she was surrounded by darkness. She couldn't even see herself in the gloom. Out from the darkness stepped a woman. Her skin was pure white, her hair dark black, wearing a sleeveless shirt and a pair of faded jeans, she seemed almost normal, the only thing odd was the ankh charm hanging from around her neck. "Hello Yang. I've been wondering when you'd fall asleep."

"Who are you? Well, other than just a hallucination, that answer isn't good enough."

"I'm Death. And I'm not a hallucination."

"Really now? So why aren't you wearing a black hooded robe, and where's the scythe?"

"That's not exactly a comfortable outfit, you know. I much prefer this. Anyhow, I'm only here to warn you that you're going to want to be prepared. I might be seeing you again soon."

"Thanks, I think."

"No problem. I'll just call my ride. DREAM!" Quickly, a pure white figure appeared, with black empty eyes and a gold-rimmed emerald pendant. "I'm ready to go."

"Alright, let's head back. And didn't I ask you to call me Daniel?" Looking over at Yang, he said "I hope to see you again someday, Miss Xiao Long."

"That sounds like it would be fun. Goodbye Death." Yang said as Death took Dream's arm.

"See ya Yang!" Death shouted as she and Dream disappeared. Now stuck back in the pitch black space, Yang decided that while it may be creepy to the point of terrifying, it was still a nicer sight then some of the stuff she'd seen last time she was asleep. With this she could even get decent rest so she could destroy whatever Death thought would be ending her, if it were to even exist.

Many hours later, Yang awoke suddenly to the sound of a loud explosion. Grabbing her scroll, she quickly called up her sister. "RUBY! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"

Sounding worried, Ruby answered "The east wing just exploded. We don't know who did it. But, we're pretty sure it was empty when the bomb went off. Grab Ember Celia; make sure you stay safe."

"You can count on that, little sis. After all, who else would give Velvet the threatening big sister talk?" Yang could just imagine Ruby rolling her eyes at that as she hung up the scroll. Standing up, she began pacing, nervous about what happened, and if there were any casualties. It didn't take long, however, for something to happen.

The something took form of a large armored man destroying Yang's door. He walked in and asked "Yang Xiao Long?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Excellent. I'm Illnara, and I'm here to kill you." He certainly looked the part. He wore full armor, armor dark as night. In each of his hands was what appeared to be an axe with a buzz-saw for a head. And in lieu of a helmet there was a faceplate formed from a dead Grimm's bones, and the triple claw marks across the face completed the picture.

With a snarl, Yang brought up Ember Celia, while Illnara brought up the buzz-axes. With a shout of "JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?" Yang charged. Furious punches being blocked by faster axes.

"TOUCH THE UNTOUCHABLE, BREAK THE UNBREAKABLE, FIGHT THE POWER!" Was Illnara's shout as he quickly switched from his defensive moves to pushing Yang back, attacking without any measure of caution, bloodlust evident in his eyes. "I'M DROWING IN A CRIMSON SEA, AND I JUST NEED TO LEARN HOW TO SURF!"

A surprise hit from Yang knocked Illnara back, and gave her a moment to think. _As soon as the fight started, he seemed to have lost all sanity. He doesn't even fight with any regard for his own safety!_ Jumping back into the fight, Illnara seemed almost even more deranged, attacks more furious now that he'd been hit. After a particularly vicious lunge, Yang had to stop blocking, as the two buzz-axes were biting through the metal of Ember Celia.

"THE PAIN TRAIN HAS NO BRAKES!" With this shout, Illnara successfully uppercutted Yang's jaw with one of his two buzz-axes. "I ANOINT YOU WITH THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE LAST RACE, MAY IT SERVE YOU WELL!" The other buzz-axe sliced across her stomach. She fell to the floor, bleeding. With only a single glance back, Illnara left the room.

And Death took the first for her own.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. I will try as hard as I can to keep that from happening again. Also, yay, Gurren Lagann references! And everyone who read the now destroyed One plus One, Illnara's back! Back, and crazier than ever! On the downside, Yang is dead. I will admit, I teared up writing her death.**

**Broke 2k views. Squealed like a small child again.**

**Anyhow, you know the drill (No Gurren Lagann pun intended). Review! Please! Reviews sustain me! They feed me! Please and thank you!**

**-The Shattered Man**


	6. A Dark Conspiracy

Chapter Six: A Dark Conspiracy

Ilnara was happy. There had been few days as fun as this one. He'd had quite the invigorating fight that left both halves of him satisfied. Looking at his feet, he could see one Yang Xiao Long, blood spilling from open wounds. Few days went just this well, and few plans had this few hiccups. All that was left was for him and Orion to 'borrow' a beacon bullhead and head to the rendezvous. Hopefully Silere could take out Miss Schnee, but that was of less consequence.

After thoroughly desecrating the corpse, Ilnara reached for the shotgun-gauntlets. A quick look-over determined they'd be worth taking to implement into his armor. A glance at his watch showed there wasn't time to waste. Pulling out Heaven, one of his two axes, he hacked off her arms just below the bottom of the gauntlets. Throwing the bloody trophies into his bag, he left, and signaled to Orion that it was time to go.

Of course, no plan goes without a hitch. As they were leaving, a teen in armor came up to them. The armor bore the symbol of the Winchester family, which gave Ilnara a bit of happiness, remembering the Winchester family's attempts at ending them. He seemed upset, from what Ilnara could tell. Before he could elbow him out of the way, the teen cried out "You assholes blew up the east wing! Dove was in there! I'm gonna kill you!"

Before the teen could do anything to make good on his threat, Orion pulled out a specialized pistol from his pocket, causing Ilnara to smile. With a threatening grin of his own, Orion shot out the boy's kneecaps. Howling in pain, Cardin dropped to the ground, unlikely to ever recover the ability to walk.

"Nice shot." Ilnara said to Orion, stepping over the boy's motionless form; he'd probably passed out.

"Thanks," came Orion's gruff reply. "But that wasn't exactly a stealthy move, so we should leave now."

"Leave the stealth to Silere. I have a plan." Remembering he had an audience, Ilnara turned to them. His grin turned feral, and he shouted "I'VE GOT A LITTLE PRESENT FOR YOU, KIDDIES!" He pulled a bomb from his back pocket, and threw it towards the mass of students.

"Overkill, don't you think? And please answer as Ilnara, Xeres' gets on my nerves." Orion committed, watching the explosion.

"We're at Beacon Academy. They're all aura users. It's just nature's way of telling me I should give some upstarts a broken rib cage or two. That'll teach them a lesson. And do you have a problem with my alter ego?"

"He's psychotic, has less self-control than a monkey on cocaine, and makes no sense. What also makes no sense is how you think that because they're aura users means you should give out lessons in the form of broken ribcages. Don't try it with Matt Roscoe again. How many times has that been?"

"Thirteen! That backstabbing son of a whore deserves much worse."

"Shut up. It was once; you've certainly given out plenty of revenge."

"Fine, fine, whatever. You just want to get back so you can pine over Emerald some more."

"Shut it or I'll shove Judge up your ass and pull the trigger."

"Now, now, I know you're jealous 'cause I got Neo to date me, and Emerald still won't give you the time of day, but that doesn't mean you just shove a pistol up my ass."

"A shotgun pistol, thank you very much. You should know, you suggested the idea."

"Didn't think you'd take it seriously. Now you can you still fly a bullhead?"

"Of course. I'm insulted. Go back and text your girlfriend that we eliminated the target. I'm sure she'll just shout for joy."

"Yeah, yeah, pick on my mute girlfriend. I can still kick your ass in her place you know."

"You need me to fly."

"Damnit Orion!" Before Ilnara could curse Orion more, a shot rang out across the grounds. Quickly after, two more were heard.

"Well" Orion said. "You should probably tell Roman and Cinder we got the other target. The Fang will probably throw a party, and make us all honorary faunus, which hasn't been done since the war was ended. Won't it be so exciting?" Ilnara could feel the sarcasm coming from the last part.

"I know. Anyhow, could you land for a bit? I'm feeling someone who shouldn't be here is listening to us."

"Will I get to see the lightning again?" Ilnara sighed. Orion really enjoyed seeing the lightning.

"Sure. I won't kill her. She gets to go back and warn them. Anyhow, land so I don't have to worry about destroying the ship."

"Fine, fine." Just after landing, Ilnara stretched his semblance. It was a very useful little trick, allowing him to pick up on the faint signals that aura let off. Finding the red strand he knew was out of place, his was black and Orion's was a silver-white, he followed it back to the cargo bays. Finding someone in a red hood, he grabbed her by the cloak, and promptly threw her out of the Bullhead.

Walking out of the Bullhead, he let his confidence flow and asked with a sneer "So, little red, are you the scythe wielder Roman's been complaining about?"

"Oh, he complains about me? Awesome." Ruby replied cheekily.

"So what the hell are you doing on my damn ship?!"

"Did you blow up the East Wing?"

"Yeah, well, technically it was Orion; I was busy with that blondie, but basically, yeah."

"And the cafe?"

"That was actually me. Surprise!"

"Then I'm going to bring you in!"

"You and what army, red?"

"Don't need one." Ruby expanded Crescent Rose. "My sweetheart here will take care of you."

"You can't be any harder to kill than blondie was. And she at least had something to hit close range. Those were nice gauntlets."

At this, Ruby looked visibly shaken "Gauntlets...? Did... did you kill Yang?"

"Oh, so that was her name? Yeah, I've got her forearms back in a bag. Would have taken too long to grab the gauntlets."

"I'm going to kill you." Oddly, this was said in a perfectly even tone, despite the fury raging in Ruby's eyes. "Slowly and painfully."

At this, Ilnara let out a laugh. "I'll tell you what. I'll let you live. You'll be a messenger, to tell them what the capable members of the White Fang can do."

Leaping at him, Ruby prepared to take off Ilnara's head with a sweep of Crescent Rose. In response, Ilnara simply rolled out of the way, and pulled out fire and fury. Letting himself shift, he shouted out "WHO'S READY TO FLAY SOME SCALPS!?"

Ruby got a worried look after that, and tried another swipe. Pulling out Heaven and Hell, his axes, he blocked the side swipe and left two large gashes in the shaft of the scythe. Unfortunately, Ruby didn't notice these gashes. Attempting to use her semblance for speed, Crescent Rose snapped in half, leaving Ruby with an unusable weapon.

"AWWW, DID YOU HAVE AN ACCIDENT? DON'T WORRY, I CAN FIX IT!" Xeres' voice sounded out as he raised his hand. Blue lightning coursed out and struck Ruby, and she felt weak. Almost as if he was draining her very soul.

Ilnara took back control over his vocal systems to tell Ruby "It's an aura drain. Rather appropriate, don't you think?"

Ending the drain, leaving Ruby feeling exhausted, Xeres raised his axe. He slammed it into Ruby's right shoulder, ripping through the tendons. Pulling it out, he walked back to the bullhead and shifted back to Ilnara.

"Hey Orion! Wanna help drag her into the ship? We have, say, five minutes until Silere shows up."

"Fine. But only since you did the injuring. Got a plan for her?" Orion asked, his tone still bored.

"Yeah. Bind her wounds. We'll take her to Vale General, and then I want to steal the motorcycle that Yang girl had. I took the keys off her belt earlier."

"Good thinking."

Ilnara set to work, preparing a makeshift bandage for the girl. Soon after he finished, Silere walked into the clearing, asking "Who's the girl?"

"No idea" Orion answered. "She was somehow connected to Ilnara though. Claimed she was going to kill him."

"I'll bet that worked out."

"She lasted about a minute. Anyhow, we're gonna drop her off at Vale General. She'll start rumors of our power, hopefully. Xeres showed off his Aura drain."

"Damn."

"Yeah. And we've got a motorcycle to pick up."

"Oh, really?"

"Ilnara's target owned one. Anyhow, let's go." Orion walked back into the bullhead and they took off, flying at a leisurely pace to Vale's General Hospital. Ruby's bleeding was mostly stopped by the overly tight bandages wrapped around the cuts. It was lucky that the hospital's roof landing pad was empty that day, probably dealing with Beacon. Hoisting Ruby in a fireman's carry, Ilnara and Silere headed over to the roof doors. A few loud knocks got some attention.

"Hey, who's up on the roof?!" An irritated doctor called out. "Shouldn't you have your own key?" After getting a look at who he was seeing, he changed his tune. "Bring her down here. Now. We should get her into surgery soon. I don't like the look of those gashes. Is she an aura user?"

"I believe she's a first year huntress." Silere answered.

"And we really have to go." Ilnara added. "She's in good hands, right? Contact Ozpin about her."

"Will do." The doctor turned back and carried Ruby down the stairs.

"I'm going to go fetch that damn bike." Ilnara said, realizing it was at Beacon. He was quite annoyed he'd have to go all the way back.

Orion's voice came floating down like a godsend "We'll go back to Beacon, Ilnara. No worries. Try not to break anyone else's ribcage." At the odd look Silere sported, Orion said "Long story. Don't ask."

Shrugging, Silere walked back into the bullhead, followed by Ilnara. A short hop to Beacon later and they were successfully robbing the Beacon garage for the mysterious bike.

"So, the keychain has a bumblebee on it. Think it's that black and yellow one over there?" Ilnara asked.

"Don't know. Go try it." Orion shot back. A quick test with the key proved it to be the right bike.

"Excellent. I'll meet you guys at the party" Ilnara said, revving the bike. "Oh, I am going to have too much with this thing. Hey, look it has a name engraved in it. 'Bumblebee'. That explains the keychain."

"Odd name. Cya, Ilnara." Orion said, opening the doors and walking back to the bullhead where Silere waited for him.

Revving happily, Ilnara set off for the safe house. Determined to drive for once in his life without being pulled over, Ilnara barely managed to keep it at five mph over the speed limit. It was quite a limiting experience, but it was fine, he supposed. After all, it was only six in the evening, better not cause too big a disturbance. He'd also rather not have Roman on his ass about causing another highway collapse.

Finally arriving at the White Fang headquarters, Ilnara smiled when he heard the music. It seemed the party was just starting. Walking in, he spotted Neo, and approached her, draping a possessive arm around her. After a few quick signs, Neo leaned into him before pointing to where Roman was waiting.

Walking over to the ginger crook, Ilnara asked "Well? What did her majesty have to say about our performance today?"

"Apparently you've done a brilliant job, despite all of Vale knowing what you look like." Roman responded with a sneer.

"They all know what you look like as well."

"Fine. Just don't mess up the operation."

"You got it, sir bossman sir."

With a small growl, Roman walked away. Ilnara turned back toward the party. The fun was just getting started.

Miles away, in an empty hospital room, Ruby awoke with a gasp. Tears ran down her face as she remembered Yang. They would pay. Ilnara, Orion, the whole damn white fang. They would pay for Yang's death.

* * *

**A/N: So, I really had to write a chapter from the villain's perspective. I am Ilnara, and my two best friends are Silere and Orion. I really like their characters, and you can plan on a few more chapters like this one. And Ruby's turning dark. I think she's pissed at me. Ah well. I'm surprised I got so little hate for killing Yang. No flames at all. I had to eat cold food. You all disappoint me so much. Anyhow, if you have comments, ideas, complaints, or just want to chat, leave a review! If you don't want to review but liked it anyhow, favorites and follows are cool too!**

**-The Shattered Man**


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